The Revelation Code

7

Nina was rinsing a plate in the kitchen when someone knocked on the door. Norvin had paid visits throughout the afternoon to check the progress of her research, but from the sound’s hesitancy she guessed that this time it was Miriam. ‘Come in!’

She had been right. ‘Dr Wilde?’ said the young woman. ‘The Prophet asked me—’

‘Yeah, yeah, bring me to him. I know the drill.’

Miriam lowered her head, abashed, then sniffed the air. ‘Oh, that smells delicious! What is it?’

‘Nothing special,’ Nina told her. ‘I just fried up some peppers and onions and things. I know fried food isn’t something you’re supposed to have while you’re pregnant, but screw it — sometimes you just have to obey your cravings. And hey, at least it’s not coal or something crazy like live goldfish.’

‘It’s making me hungry, that’s for sure.’ Miriam looked at the countertop. ‘I’ll clean all that up for you.’

Nina held up her hands. ‘No, it’s okay. I can take care of it.’

‘Are you sure? At least let me put that in the garbage.’ She indicated a wooden board on which were the finely chopped remains of several peppers.

‘No, I’m going to dry them out and use them as seasoning.’ Seeing Miriam’s uncertainty, Nina smiled and went on: ‘Really, it’s okay. I’m going to be here for a while, so I at least want to be able to cook my way, y’know?’

‘If you’re sure…’

‘I’m sure. Okay, let me wash my hands and we’ll go see what His Prophetness wants.’

They left the little house, Miriam striking up a conversation about cookery. Nina had to bluff her way through it; she was far from a culinary expert, Eddie generally handling anything more complicated than scrambled eggs. They passed one of the poles topped by the black spheres of the security cameras, and she realised that she not only had a chance to change the subject, but that it was the only time she would be able to talk without being overheard. ‘Listen, Miriam,’ she said in a low voice, ‘you told me before that you wanted to help me.’

The young woman nodded. ‘What can I do?’

Nina chose her words carefully. Their earlier exchanges had made it clear that she would not be able to persuade Miriam to act directly against Cross, but if she could appeal to her caring nature… ‘Miriam, I like you — you’re a sweet girl, and I know that you care about what happens to me.’

She smiled. ‘Thank you.’

‘Then you care about my baby, too. Don’t you?’

The smile became a little laugh. ‘Of course I do!’

‘Because the thing is, I was brought here against my will. That’s put me under a lot of pressure, a lot of stress — and that’s not good for the baby. It can really hurt it. Do you hear what I’m saying, Miriam?’

Miriam’s expression became one of concern, but conflict was also clear on her face. ‘I… I know that you want to go home, but I can’t help you do that. I’m sorry. I really am.’

‘I’m not asking you to get me on to the next flight back to New York. All I want you to do is phone my obstetrician and ask her the best way that I can keep my baby safe. I’ll give you her number.’ She had other numbers in mind; friends, former work colleagues, anyone who could realise the significance of the message and pass it on to the authorities…

But it was not to be. ‘I’m sorry,’ Miriam repeated unhappily. ‘But I’m not allowed to make any phone calls without the Prophet’s permission. I really, really want to do everything I can to help your baby,’ she added, eyes wide in reassurance. ‘But… I just can’t do that. I’m sorry.’

‘Then you’re not really any help at all, are you?’ Nina snapped. But despite the situation, she couldn’t feel any anger towards the shy, sincere young woman. In a lot of ways Miriam couldn’t have been any more different from Macy, but she shared the same openness of personality, her heart right there on her sleeve. ‘Hey, it’s okay, I didn’t mean it,’ she said, seeing the stricken look on her companion’s face. ‘You’ve done fine, you really have. I just wish you could have done more.’

‘So do I,’ Miriam replied.

They arrived at the church. Norvin was waiting at the door. ‘What, I don’t get a personal greeting this time?’ Nina said in mock complaint.

‘The Prophet’s been busy. He’s waiting for you,’ was the big man’s reply.

Nina shrugged and followed him inside. ‘See you later,’ she said to Miriam, receiving a smile in return.

Cross really had been busy, she saw as she entered the control room. The two touchscreens on his chair apparently weren’t powerful enough for whatever he had planned, as a pair of laptops were set up on the table before him, a large printout of the catacomb map mounted on a stand nearby. The entrance to the system had been circled in red. Beside it was a smaller map of the Villa Torlonia’s grounds. ‘Wow,’ she said. ‘Looks like you’re set up for a really intense session of Dungeons and Dragons.’

He gestured impatiently for her to sit as he adjusted a headset. ‘Comms check,’ he said into the mic. ‘Come in, Simeon.’

Nina heard Simeon reply through his earphones, but couldn’t make out the words. ‘Do I get to listen, or are you going to have subtitles?’

‘Norvin, get her some headphones,’ Cross said with annoyance. The other man gave her a wireless headset. ‘Your mic is switched off, Dr Wilde. I don’t need you distracting my people with chatter and’ — a sidelong glare — ‘snide comments.’

‘As if I would!’ she replied with paint-stripping sarcasm.

‘You’re trying my patience,’ was his warning response before he turned his attention to the laptops. He typed commands, reading the results with satisfaction, then said: ‘All team members. Camera check.’

The video wall lit up, individual screens showing different images as they had when Nina first saw it. But instead of CCTV footage of herself, this time unfamiliar faces appeared in the sickly green glow of night vision. All had small cameras mounted on their headsets, the images twitching with every slight movement.

Wait; not everyone was unfamiliar. She saw Anna on one monitor, Simeon on another, facing each other. Surnames were superimposed over the corner of each screen; theirs both read FISHER. The two Witnesses were indeed married.

Cross ran through a list, each of the ten team members responding in turn. ‘Okay, we’re ready,’ he said at last. ‘Are you clear to move in?’

Anna stood, revealing that the group was in the rear of a truck as she clambered through to the cab. A narrow street was visible through the windshield, cars parked on both sides. A taxi went past, but there were no pedestrians in sight. ‘Nobody around. I think we’re set.’

‘Go when clear,’ Cross ordered.

The screens erupted into bewildering movement, the effect almost nauseating. Nina forced herself to focus on the view from a single camera, the name at its corner TRANT. The group moved quickly out of the van’s rear doors and ran to a nearby wall. It was higher than head height, but still proved little obstacle as they scrambled over it.

Beyond lay the expansive grounds of the Villa Torlonia. Nina knew from her research that the villa itself had once been Mussolini’s residence, commandeered by the dictator from its owners for the far-from-princely rent of one lira a year. However, the imposing building was some distance from the team’s destination: the Jewish catacombs.

The intruders dropped flat to the ground, checking their surroundings for guards. ‘All clear,’ Nina heard Simeon say. ‘Okay, we’re heading for the entrance. Stay in the trees.’

She glanced at the map. ‘Where did they come in?’

‘The south wall, off the Via Siracusa. Here.’ Cross indicated a point.

‘That’s about as far as they could get from the catacombs.’

‘It also has the lowest pedestrian traffic and surveillance coverage. I know what I’m doing.’ He watched as his people scurried through the grounds. Lights flared in the distance, illuminating the estate’s various palatial buildings; smaller ones moved between them. The torches of security guards making their rounds.

Nina found herself torn between hoping the raiders would get caught and an almost perverse involvement in the game of hide-and-seek. Simeon and Anna led the way, the others stringing out behind them as they weaved between the trees, occasionally ducking and freezing as the guards patrolled. But none of the wandering figures came close, sticking to the well-lit paths. Ever since its most famous former resident had been strung up outside a gas station, the Villa Torlonia had no longer needed high security.

‘He’s gone,’ said Simeon as another guard disappeared behind a building. ‘Move.’

Nina’s seasickness returned as the cameras jolted. She fixed her gaze back on Trant’s screen, seeing Anna and Simeon ahead of him. The couple came to a stop in a small stand of trees. ‘I can see the entrance,’ Simeon reported.

‘Got it,’ replied Cross. Two sets of fences surrounded a depression in the ground, a simple inner guardrail encircled by a taller chain-link barrier. ‘Can you climb it?’

‘Not easily, but I can see a gate.’ Simeon’s hand blocked the view from his camera as he peered through a set of compact binoculars. ‘It’s padlocked.’

‘Go through it. Watch for security, though.’

‘Got it.’ Whispered orders, then the team ran to the outer fence. Someone produced a set of bolt-cutters and snipped the padlock’s shackle. Everyone hurried through the gate, Anna closing it again behind them.

A gap in the second fence led to steps descending to the bottom of the excavation. A wrought-iron gate blocked an opening in a stone wall, but its padlock fared no better than the one above. Simeon shone a flashlight inside. A gloomy tunnel led into darkness.

‘Masks on,’ Cross ordered. The team members donned half-face respirators. ‘Move in. Start your search patterns.’

Nina looked at the catacomb map. The ancient network of tombs was spread out over seven levels, its branching paths forming a genuine labyrinth. ‘How long are you going to have them searching down there?’

‘As long as it takes,’ Cross replied.

The Fishers led the way, Trant and another man peeling off down a side passage behind them. The entire team quickly spread out into the maze, casting their flashlights over the loculi carved into the walls. The beams found dirt and debris, along with bone fragments. ‘You’re looking for symbols of menorahs,’ Cross told them. ‘They might be on the walls or the ceiling — maybe even the floor. If you see one, check the area around it with your metal detector.’ He watched the screens as the group moved deeper. ‘Whelan, slow down. You need to check the ceiling too.’

‘Sorry, Prophet,’ said one of the men. He shone his light back the way he had come. ‘It’s clear,’ he said with relief.

‘Good. We have to find the angel. We can’t leave without it.’

‘If it’s not there, what will you do?’ Nina asked.

Cross regarded her coldly. ‘It’s down there.’ He tapped his chest, his heart. ‘I know.’

‘So long as you remember what I told you,’ she muttered — just as she caught something on one of the screens. ‘Wait, there!’

‘I see it,’ said Cross. ‘Simeon, to your left.’

Simeon’s camera fixed upon a painted wall. It was decorated mostly with repeating patterns of interconnected lines and circles, but within the circles themselves were more detailed friezes. Nina saw a flower, a tree, a large tent in a desert…

And a menorah.

She glanced at Cross, to see him regarding the image of the ceremonial candlestick with almost predatory eyes. ‘Check it, now!’ he snapped.

Simeon took something from his belt. He brought it up to the wall, revealing it as a metal detector, but a much more compact and sophisticated type than those used by beachcombers. He switched it on, then swept it over the picture of the menorah. Nina heard a faint warbling through her headphones, but nothing that suggested there was anything hidden behind the cracked plaster facade. He widened his search pattern, running the detector outwards in an expanding spiral, but found nothing. ‘All right, it’s not there,’ said Cross, disappointed. ‘Keep looking.’

‘There’s another one here,’ said a man. Nina spotted a second menorah in the view of someone called Overton. This was more ornate than the first, but it soon turned out that it too concealed nothing metallic behind it.

She leaned back. ‘This could take a while. Glad I ate first.’

Cross’s impatience was plain, but he said nothing, alternately watching the video wall and checking the laptops. Nina realised that one of them was showing a tracker displaying his team’s progress through the catacomb network. They were using extremely high-tech equipment; beyond the occasional video glitch, there hadn’t been any communication dropouts, even underground. Whatever they were using, it was better than that available to civilians. Military gear? Or, considering Cross’s background, intelligence-grade?

The search continued. Lights flicked over more burial chambers; the sight of a skull amongst the dirt gave Nina a brief chill. The tunnels became narrower the deeper the team progressed. Ancient artwork still adorned the walls in places; she glimpsed images of animals, fish, people standing in temples — even something that she took to be the Ark of the Covenant.

And more menorahs. Each was checked, but the only metal found was worthless detritus. Nina took another look at the tracker. The paths that Cross’s team had taken were marked in red — but there were still many more passages yet to be explored. ‘I told you this could take a while.’

‘We’ve got the whole night,’ Cross replied.

‘And what happens when morning comes? Or if a security guard sees that the padlock’s been cut and calls the cops?’

He frowned, then spoke into his headset. ‘Everyone listen.’ The bobbing cameras all steadied as their wearers stopped. ‘We need to pick up the pace. Set your detectors to maximum gain, and sweep the tunnels as you move — if you get a reading, see if there’s a menorah painted there. We’ve got to move faster.’

‘Understood,’ Simeon replied. The other team members all responded in kind.

‘You’ll get a hell of a lot of false alarms,’ Nina pointed out.

‘Better that than missing the real thing.’ The metal detectors were adjusted, then everyone set off again, moving at a quicker pace.

Nina soon heard an electronic squeal. Someone called Ellison swept his flashlight around the tunnel before zeroing in on the source of the signal. It turned out to be nothing more than a rusted nail.

‘Warned you,’ she reminded Cross as she took off her headphones. ‘You might wanna send out for snacks.’

It took all his restraint not to react to her barb. ‘Keep searching,’ he said instead, frustration evident.

Time trudged by. Hardly a couple of minutes passed without one of the searchers picking up a trace of metal, but each time it turned out to be junk. Nina walked around the room, under Norvin’s watchful eye, to relieve the stiffness in her legs, while Cross remained fixated on the screens. She glanced into the church to see that day had turned to night outside. Returning to her seat, she saw on the laptop that barely a quarter of the tunnel network had been searched. The Fishers and their companions had been scouring the catacombs for over two hours and still come up with nothing.

‘Do you actually need me here for this?’ she said acerbically as she sat. ‘I’m four months pregnant, remember. I need sleep, I need food — and I need to pee. Seriously, you have no idea how often I need to pee.’

Cross said something under his breath. Nina didn’t catch it, but was fairly sure the second word was ‘woman’, and doubted the one preceding it was complimentary. ‘Jerkoff,’ she muttered. She was about to get up and leave whether he granted permission or not when he sat bolt upright, staring intently at one particular monitor. ‘There! Anna, get closer,’ he barked.

Anna’s screen showed a painted menorah pinned in her flashlight beam — and from her discarded headphones, Nina heard an insistent whine. She donned them again. ‘Strong reading… very strong,’ Anna announced.

‘Dr Wilde, look at this,’ Cross said with urgency, and anticipation. ‘Do you see it?’ He tapped his touch pad, and Anna’s viewpoint expanded to fill the entire video wall.

Her metal detector rose into frame. The whine became a screech each time it passed in front of the menorah. ‘There’s definitely something behind it,’ said Nina.

‘It’s the angel.’ Cross spoke with total conviction. ‘Anna! Show me that marking above it.’

Anna moved closer, the painting swelling to fill the screens. ‘Can you see it?’ she asked.

‘Yes. Can you, Dr Wilde?’

‘Yeah, I can…’ Nina replied quietly, almost unwilling to accept the evidence of her own eyes. Above the menorah were symbols — ones she had seen before.

The Akkadian and Hebrew that had also been present above the menorah in the sunken temple in Iraq.

She faced Cross. ‘Is it the same?’

‘Yes. It is.’

Nina was so astonished by the possibility that there could actually be some truth behind what she had dismissed as the insane theories of a religious crank that she didn’t fully register the orders Cross was giving — until the point of a pickaxe slammed into the wall beside the painted menorah. A sharp crack of stone in her earphones made her flinch. ‘No! What are you doing?’

‘I have to see,’ Cross replied. ‘We’ve got to get it out of there.’

‘But you’re destroying the site!’

‘I don’t care.’ He watched as the attack on the wall continued. ‘The only thing that matters— There!’ he cried. ‘There it is!’

Simeon levered away a crumbling slab to reveal an opening concealed behind the surface. Metal glinted within. ‘Careful, careful!’ said Cross as the niche was fully exposed. ‘Let me see it!’

Anna brought her light nearer. The beam shone over a statue: a humanoid figure that Nina estimated to be a foot tall. Sheets of thin dimpled metal were wrapped around its body. But it was the head that caught her attention — not human, but animal, an ox.

‘The second beast…’ Cross announced in awe. ‘The four beasts, the “living creatures” from God’s temple — they’re the four angels bound at the Euphrates. I knew it — I was right. I found the code hidden in Revelation, and it was true!’

The statue was carefully lifted from its resting place. From Simeon’s muted grunt of effort, it was heavier than it looked. He blew off dust, then turned it in Anna’s light. Nina got a clearer view of the effigy. She was forced to admit that it did indeed resemble the description given in Revelation. But that wasn’t enough to make her imagine — to believe, as Cross did — that they were one and the same. ‘So you’ve got it,’ she said. ‘Now what?’

‘Now we get it back here. Trant,’ he said, ‘Simeon and Anna have found the angel. You’ve got the case — get to their location. Everyone else, return to the entrance. Move out as soon as the angel’s secured.’

Trant began to traverse the labyrinth to meet the Fishers. In the meantime, Nina watched as Cross gave instructions to Simeon so he could view the angel by proxy. The statue was turned to show every aspect to the camera. Three sets of wings, as he had said, the dimpling in the metal giving it the impression of eyes all around…

Something caught her eye. Not on the angel, but in the empty recess behind it. ‘Whoa, whoa!’ she said. ‘There’s something in the niche — written on the wall.’

Cross saw it. ‘Anna! Show me the back of the opening!’

The green haze of the night-vision camera rendered the scene flat and lacking in contrast, but it was still clear enough for Nina to make out the text carved into the stone. ‘It’s ancient Hebrew,’ she told Cross, ‘but I don’t know the language well enough to translate it.’

‘You don’t need to,’ he replied, working the touch screens. The footage on the video wall froze. A square box was superimposed over the image, which he manipulated to close in around the lettering. ‘This is a translation program.’

‘Yeah, I’ve used them before,’ she said, watching as the application identified the Hebrew letters, then ran the words they formed through a database to come up with an English equivalent. It did not take long, though as she’d learned to expect from such software, the end result was awkwardly phrased. Even so, it gave her a faint chill. ‘Okay, that’s a little bit ominous…’

For the first time, Cross’s expression revealed a degree of trepidation. ‘“It is three times spoken”,’ he read. ‘“The dragon number is of man. Have this wisdom to enter the temple of God.” The dragon…’

‘The dragon?’ Nina echoed, remembering her recent research. ‘You mean the Beast — Satan?’ Several sections of Revelation were dedicated to the final battles between the forces of God and His enemies, led by the fallen angel.

Cross nodded, quoting another Bible verse. ‘“The dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan…”’ He rounded on her with an air of triumph. ‘This is more proof that I’m right. Don’t you see? The Elders wrote that inscription when they hid the angel in the catacombs — and John read it in the Library of Pergamon. It’s all in the Book of Revelation!’

She was still far from convinced, but could tell that nothing she said would dissuade him. Instead she mulled over what she had seen as Cross put his team’s cameras back on the monitors. The others gathered at the entrance and removed their breath masks as Trant reached the Fishers. He was carrying a rectangular case, opening it to reveal a lining of impact-cushioning foam rubber. Simeon laid the angel carefully inside and shut the lid.

‘Okay,’ Cross said as Trant picked up the container. ‘Get back to the entrance.’

More minutes passed as the trio hurried through the passages. ‘The Witnesses will bring the angel back to the Mission,’ Cross told Nina. ‘They have a private jet standing by.’

‘Expensive,’ Nina noted.

‘Any price is worth paying for God’s work.’

‘And how are you going to get a relic like that through customs?’

‘The same way we got you through. I told you, I have friends.’ He returned his attention to the monitors as the trio reached the entrance. ‘Anna, lead the way out. Simeon, guard Trant and the angel.’

Anna squeezed past the waiting men and opened the gate, making her way up to the top of the excavated pit. She surveyed her surroundings. ‘Nobody in sight. Move out, back the way we came.’ She went to the chain-link fence and swung the gate open. The first group of men ran past her and headed into the trees.

Trant left the tunnel, Simeon behind him. They reached the top of the steps—

‘Back, get back!’ Anna suddenly hissed. Her monitor became a blur of movement as she scrambled behind a tree outside the fence. ‘Guards coming, north-east!’

‘The gate — close the gate!’ Cross shouted, but it was too late for her to turn back without being spotted. Trant and Simeon retreated into the pit.

Anna leaned around the tree. Two uniformed security guards were walking down a path towards the fenced-off area. Their ambling pace showed that they hadn’t yet seen anything amiss, but if they caught sight of the gate…

Nina felt a rising tension. Unlike when the raiders had been sneaking through the Villa Torlonia’s grounds, this time her concern was entirely for the unsuspecting men as they drew closer. ‘Get out of there,’ she whispered. ‘Just turn around, don’t look at the padlock…’

Too late. One guard stopped, his body language expressing momentary confusion before he spoke to his companion. Then the image went dark as Anna ducked behind the tree; by the time she crept around the other side, the pair had reached the gate. One saw the severed padlock, then shone a flashlight over the surrounding area.

Movement on Simeon’s monitor. The breath caught in Nina’s throat as she saw him draw a silenced automatic and thumb off the safety. ‘No, don’t,’ she said to Cross, pleading. ‘Don’t let him kill them!’

‘Their fate is in God’s hands,’ he replied.

‘No it isn’t — it’s in yours! Tell Simeon to—’

She broke off as Anna’s camera showed the two guards going through the gate. ‘They’re armed,’ Cross warned as one of the uniformed men drew a pistol. ‘Anna!’

She was already moving, making her way across the grass towards the gate. Simeon raised his gun. The camera on his headset made the view suddenly resemble a video game, turning into a first-person shooter as Nina found herself looking down the sights.

But it was no game. Real people were the targets. ‘No, don’t!’ she cried, but they couldn’t hear her.

The guard appeared on Simeon’s monitor, flashlight flaring. He directed it down into the pit — and shouted in alarm as he saw the figures skulking in the darkness. He raised his gun—

Simeon fired first. A puff of blood exploded from the guard’s chest, red turned greenish-grey by the night vision. He spun and collapsed to the ground. Simultaneously Anna rushed up behind the other man, snapping a hidden blade out from her sleeve and stabbing it deep into the side of his throat. Another gush of discoloured liquid fountained from the gaping wound as he fell.

‘Jesus Christ!’ Nina wailed, jumping from her seat. She had seen people die before — far, far too many times — but watching the deaths play out through the killers’ eyes was appalling in a whole new way. ‘You fucking psychopaths!’

Cross’s jaw clenched in anger. ‘Sit down! Sit down and shut up!’

‘No! You’re—’

Norvin shoved her forcefully down on to the chair. She gasped at a sharp pain through her lower body. Fear filled her — the baby! — but the stabbing sensation quickly subsided.

Breathing shakily, she looked back at Cross. ‘You murdering bastard. You say you’re a man of God, but you’re just a killer.’

‘I’m doing the Lord’s work,’ he replied. ‘“Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Judgement is coming, and all worshippers of the Beast will be cast into the lake of fire.’

‘You don’t know that they worship any beast.’

‘They’re Italian. They’re almost certainly followers of the false prophet.’

It took her a second to get his meaning. ‘The Pope? You mean because they’re Catholics, they deserve to die?’

‘“They were judged each man according to their works.” We all will be, when the last day comes — even me. But God has chosen me to do His will, so my name is written in the Book of Life, along with all my followers.’

‘You’re insane,’ was all she could say.

On the screens, Anna, Simeon and Trant hurried through the darkened grounds after the rest of the team. ‘Simeon, you and Anna get the angel to the jet,’ Cross ordered. ‘I want it here at the Mission as soon as possible. Paxton will be waiting with the chopper as soon as you arrive. The rest of you, hole up and wait for further instructions. As soon as the next angel is located, I want you ready to move out.’ He faced Nina. ‘You still have work to do, Dr Wilde. The Place in the Wilderness and the Throne of Satan…’ He tapped at one of the pads, the monitors flicking to show Eddie still trapped in the chair. ‘Your husband’s life depends on your finding them.’

‘I’ll find them,’ Nina growled, her glare at the cult leader filled with loathing. ‘Not for you. For him. But I’ll find them.’